Leon and Stitch
by Zeff N Company
Summary: The title says it all. "...I'm confident to say that all the street animals we have here are adoptable-" And then they turned and caught sight of what it was hiding behind Squall. "-EXCEPT THAT ONE!"


_**Inspired by **Is mine...**, an artwork by **_artemis-vytala _**in deviantArt.**_

**_Thus, I answer my own question of why the ever-vigilant man would let a fluffy blue alien climb the walls and jump on computers in Kingdom Hearts II. That, and Leon is a sucker for all things cute and fluffy (thanks to Stellar Eclipse for pointing it out in dA)._**

* * *

Ansem would come to realize how easily he could have avoided all this - how he should have thought about the future in more depth before impulsively adopting a little boy, how he should have taken a decent amount of responsibility over that choice, how he should have placed the child first before his work, how he probably should have kept the ever-active tyke under constant watch even in his own absence.

How easily he could have done all that, to avoid what happened now. But fate had a sadistically humorous way of saying "I told you so", and this was it; he had failed to notice anything until it had come to past, and it was that fateful day, while he was looking through Ienzo's detailed report that, that started it all.

He had just reached the figures that were yielded from one of the newer machines when small fingers landing on the desk caught his attention. He looked up and away from the paper to find a pair of wide blue eyes staring intently at him. Instantly he set the paper down, but it still did not leave his hand as he answered the boy's silent plea for attention.

"Yes, Squall?"

"I got a question," the child admitted, his fist kneading in reflection of his nervousness.

"Let's hear it, son."

At his mentor's encouragement, Squall dove right in: "If a friend follows me home, can I keep him?"

The "pet" problem; he had witnessed this with Zack's parents when a still young Zack cheekily smuggled the still newborn Cloud home. Again, he had been told such amusing stories about childhoods involving the discoveries of street dogs and cats that - while worthy for keeps to young eyes - had never made it into the house.

It was one of those problems that any parent was cursed to have, and now he had it. But his little boy was watching him now, his eyes silently pleading in a manner he never thought possible before. He was near ready to just give in to that look, but still did the doubts linger.

At last, he had something to say, to stall for time: "Why don't you bring him here, and we'll see what we can do?"

The fingers slipped off the desk, and Squall dashed back out the doors that had been left open. When even the pattering of small feet was gone, Ansem pulled open one of the drawers to find the telephone system he had installed recently. A speedy dialling later, he did not wait long before Dilan answered on the other end.

**"Something I can do for you, sir?" **

"Could you come to my study right away? I need a second opinion."

More minutes passed before Dilan had arrived, and was given a summary of the events that had taken place, and the assistant now bore a knowing smile.

"The old 'followed-me-home' trick, huh?" And he shook his head with unguarded amusement. "If it were anyone else, I'd suspect some bribery with food was involved."

Ansem was not sure if he was ready for a joke at the moment, but he appreciated the effort. Still, it was back to the heart of the subject... "I understand that innate desire for an animal companion - especially considering the circumstances - but that child has such an endearing disposition, he could be dragging a fully-grown Behemoth through the hallway as we speak."

Dilan was laughing now, but not at his mentor...not _really_. "I wouldn't worry about that; there hasn't been anything bigger than a Foulander in Radiant Garden since the volunteers' return from the war. And if anything, the animals that are here are all pretty friendly."

"Do you think this a good idea?"

"Pets can build character in a kid," was Dilan's easy reply. Already, there was the pattering of feet that announced Squall returning with his "friend", as the man continued, "and I'm confident to say that all the street animals we have here are adoptable-"

And then they turned and caught sight of what it was hiding behind Squall.

"-_EXCEPT THAT ONE!!_" Dilan promptly finished as he dove for cover behind Ansem's desk in a display of pardonable panic.

Squall tilted his head in confusion at the assistant's actions, even as the fluffy creature at last poked its head out further from behind his shoulder. Finally, that creature bared its teeth - in what Ansem feebly hoped was its idea of a grin - and held out a four-clawed hand.

"_Hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i._"

The Garden's master felt a tad justified in his wariness as he looked under his desk at where the younger man in the room was hiding.

"... Dilan, there's a huge talking blue koala waving at me while hugging my son. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"It just showed up out of nowhere this morning, and Even wanted to conduct an autopsy on it," Dilan blurted out at once, even as he finally crawled out far enough to peek back at the still-grinning animal. "We didn't see any harm in it; I mean, it was _dead_!"

"_It was DEAD?!_"

"Well, we _thought_ it was dead."

"How could you think it was dead-?"

"Cid Highwind ran it over with his _wrecker_ - _TWICE_ - and then finished it off with a _BAT_! What _else_ were we supposed to think?!"

"So can I keep him?"

The soft question abruptly brought the discussion to a halt as both master and apprentice turned to look upon the six-year-old boy, and the fluffy blue creature that was as tall as him at full height. It purred and nuzzled against a shoulder blade, causing the boy to automatically raise his hand and pet it fondly as he continued to press his question. "Please? I promise I'll take care of him."

Ansem coughed, unable to tear his eyes away from the creature that now had its tongue up its nose. "...are you sure you want this one?"

Either ignorant to or ignoring his new friend's antics, Squall nodded with all his young solemnity. "He's an outsider and an orphan, just like me. I want to do what you did and look after him."

Despite the retained worry, Ansem could not help the pride that swelled in him at the boy's display of maturity. Yet, it was a dilemma if he ever saw one - to risk any unpredictable implications of having that strange alien in the castle, or to disappoint his child's fragile hopes. Then he realized he had not as much voice in this as he thought; not after having already disappointed his adoptive charge too many times before.

"Does he have a name, then?"

Brightening at once, Squall nodded briskly. "It's Stitch."

"... _Stitch_?" was Dilan's skeptical response at once, but the boy only nodded again as he reaffirmed it.

"That's what they called him in his world... Hawaii, right?"

"_Ih_," Stitch answered, nodding as well before waving a second time. "Aloha!"

Before the situation could get any more out of hand, Ansem decided to conclude right there. "I don't want to hear of him causing any trouble. Understand?"

With a happy cry of "Thank you, Ansem!", the little boy ran over to hug his mentor's leg. Then he was back at Stitch's side in the blink of an eye, and led it - him - back out the doors and down the hallway.

"Come on, Stitch - I'll show you around... Hi, Aeleus!"

Hearing the steady, mountain-like Captain shriek over Stitch's own greeting of the man, Ansem slowly turned back to where Dilan had at last strengthened once more.

"...don't tell me that I've doomed us all..."

"Very well, sir - I won't."

* * *

Admittedly, Squall had done a fine job in taking responsibility over his new pet; under the boy's watchful eye, Stitch was as good as gold. He was obedient to instruction, fared well with the other children - and had them fall in love with him as much as Squall had - and was friendly to the townsfolk..._most_, anyway; Cid and he alike retained their mutual distrust after that first impression of each other.

The problem, however, was that it was _only_ under the boy's watchful eye that Stitch behaved himself. In the rare occasion that Squall was called away and could not take the blue critter with him, Stitch was the menace of all menaces, and he always targeted the basement laboratories where the assistants worked. For weeks, reports were going missing, equipment was damaged, and deadlines were failing to be met.

At first, Ansem reasoned that the alien held a grudge against the scientists for their attempts to dissect him; that failed to prove anything when Xehanort's report was at last recovered scrawled in crayon sketches depicting waxy red death, doom and destruction under every equation.

Hearing Braig's irate declaration of "_All right, THAT'S IT!_" for the fifty-first time that week, Ansem realized that he could not help but agree.

Filing aside yet more damage to be seen to, he again considered the suggestion that had been brought forward by an overly eager Even - and pointedly signed for in petition by all six assistants in the block. Talks had even been arranged with King Mickey - who was sympathetic and more than happy to help - and all that remained was his own decision.

He could hear Squall talking to Stitch in the computer room a door away, and knew now that no time could be better to discuss it. Still, he needed a deep breath to steel himself for any protests as he rose and made his way toward the pair.

Entering the room, he found his boy sitting in a chair before the keyboard, with Stitch riding on his shoulders to get a good view of events. As he got closer, blue ears swiveled in his direction, and the koala-esque creature grinned at him.

"Aloha!"

"Yes, hello, Stitch," Ansem returned the greeting with a reassuring smile, and then turned to the boy who looked his way now. "Squall, we need to talk."

"Alright." And the boy deactivated Tron at once to turn his whole body to face Ansem, his fluffy companion scrambling down at once to curl up in his lap. "Can Stitch stay?"

"Actually, it's about Stitch," he explained slowly, careful with his words. "He's been actively sabotaging the research for weeks now, and I can only presume Braig's new device will never be the same again."

At once, Squall sent a disapproving glare down at the creature that shrank under it. "Stitch, I told you _no_, didn't I?"

"_Ih_," Stitch admitted softly, with the decency to look ashamed.

"You know what you must do, don't you?"

"_Ih_," he repeated, this time grudgingly.

"And no treats until it's as good as new, _and_ in perfect working order."

Upset at the punishment, Stitch whined pleadingly as he hugged Squall again. Although stoic in reinforcement of his decision, it was just too obvious a show of the devotion that was between the boy and his pet. Ansem felt his resolve crumble slightly; he had wasted too much time.

"Squall, I've been thinking," he pressed himself into saying, regaining the boy's attention, "...perhaps it's time to find Stitch a new home."

The boy looked so crushed; finishing the verdict was like pulling teeth now.

"King Mickey has agreed to take him in; he'll have a home there, with plenty of space to roam in, lots of friends, and most of all, it's peaceful. He'll be accepted wholly there..."

"He can't stay?" That was it - one question, the only question that mattered in this announcement. Ansem lost his voice for a moment, and could only shake his head. Squall lowered his gaze, and gently nudged Stitch off his lap. They met again on the floor, eyes locked in a steady gaze as Squall spoke to his friend again.

"You'll behave yourself, right?" The creature whimpered at his question, but he smiled sadly and continued. "King Mickey's the nicest person ever; I know he'll take care of you, but you have to promise me you won't make things difficult for him...can you do that for me?"

There was a low guttural sound, and Stitch suddenly latched onto Squall in a fierce hug. More incoherent syllables were uttered as Squall's brittle eyes focused elsewhere.

"I'm not abandoning you," he insisted. "I'll keep in touch, you know - I can write, and you can learn to read. Maybe you can come visit once in a while...we'll see each other again."

"Ohana."

At the strange word, Stitch pulled back, his expression sincere as he saw only Squall, and Ansem seemed to become non-existent in that moment.

"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten," the alien explained, and then he reached forward and patted the head of brown hair. "Squall my family now; I found Squall all on my own. Squall little, and sometimes angry, but all good... Squall still all good."

Then they were hugging again, the four-clawed hand still patting auburn locks as Squall exhaled against blue fur.

"I'm gonna miss you so much..."

And just like that, the Titanic sank; Ansem could not take it any longer as he finally spoke again.

"...alright. One last chance." The hopeful glances sent his way were enough to give him a headache as he warned with too little force: "I mean it: _one_ more complaint about him, and he's on the next flight to Disney castle-"

Before he could elicit any promises from either one, the blond elder found both legs captive to vice-like hugs of gratitude. He mused again how he, the solid and unwavering lord of a kingdom who was usually so forceful in his stand now crumbled before a small boy and his small companion.

How the mighty had truly fallen...

* * *

"What do you mean, there is something living in the castle?" Leon growled into the mobile he was still unaccustomed with carrying on his person. On the other end, Cid sounded troubled enough to demand apprehension.

**"I means there's something crawling the bloody walls in here! I swear, I heard it laughing...!"**

"You're imagining things; it's late-" the brunet did not get to finish the statement as something crashed in the background.

**"Call **_**that**_** imagined, boy? Get over here **_**now**_**."**

With a tired groan, Leon flipped the phone cover back down and pocketed the device as he made his way through the too-empty streets of Hollow Bastion. It had been too long since they were to return, and it had been a chore to clean up after the mess that the Heartless had left for them. Any idea of a survivor with heart intact..._here_...seemed to just stretch it.

He at last found Cid waiting for him at the entrance, his face mottled with unspoken irritation as he jabbed a thumb forcefully back into the computer room - the same room that held so many childhood memories for the younger man. Leon stepped inside, not knowing what to think or expect there.

It was as though he never left - there was the old computer, and all around was the mess of cables, spare parts, and occasionally frayed wiring that had been removed for disposal. Everything was just as they had been before the world was taken, and Leon came to stand before the keyboard once more, his gloved hand reaching out to the dusty keys as he remained lost in reminiscence.

And then there was a loud rattling call as something launched painfully between his shoulders, and it took a great effort to not fall over at once. Cid started up a tirade of profanities in alarm, but the brunet's eyes widened ever so slightly at a very familiar greeting.

"Aloha!"

"... Stitch?" And he immediately reached behind him, took hold of what was attached there, and pulled it in front of him. Sure enough... "... _Stitch?!_"

The blue koala that hung from his hold grinned - baring a full set of sharp teeth - as he raised a four-clawed hand to wave. "_Hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i...!_"

And despite the elder mechanic's loud protests, Leon drew Stitch into a hug that was long overdue, musing now that the friend who had once stood as tall as him now fit in his arms so easily. When they parted again, he smiled at the grinning face with ease, regardless of the gathering audience.

"I missed you, you know."

In response to the declaration, Stitch reached out to pat at hair that had grown longer and darker in the time that was past.

"Squall came back," he stated happily, earning a chuckle from the man.

"Of course I did," Leon replied; for a moment, the silver tint in his eyes gave way to the old blue of before. "I making sure nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten."

And in a voice of approval, Stitch purred.


End file.
